More Than Meets the Eye
by D
Summary: The Decepticons move to another world. Pity this world has defenders...
1. You Got the Touch

Prologue

_ Millions of years ago by mankind's understanding, there was a war raging across deep space. This battle was waged by a strange species of sentient machine. Divided into two factions, they fought their battles across the cosmos. The Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime, clashed with the Decepticons, lead by Megatron. The two seemed destined to fight forever until their ships crash landed on Earth._

_ Awakened near the end of the twentieth century, they renewed their conflict. Aided by the humans, the Autobots scored several key victories against their foes. From their sunken spacecraft deep at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean the Decepticons considered one more desperate gamble._

"And I say this plan is utterly preposterous!" Starscream fumed. The second in command of the Decepticons made it clear he wanted Megatron's position, and had been voicing his dissent quietly over the past few weeks.

"And I say the plan is perfect." Megatron growled. The grey and black robot pointed to a bank of computer screens. Scenes of their various failures played on all of them. "Your bungling has cost us more than victories Starscream, it has cost of us energy. This plan will allow us to restore our reserves and allow us to conquer more worlds."

"Yes, but what about the device? The space bridge takes a tremendous toll each time we use it. But for this-" Megatron silence his subordinate with a glare.

"True, there is danger, which is why I'm only taking a small force. But the rewards will make it all worth while. Think of it!" He gestured towards his assembled troops. "A world overflowing with energy and not a single Autobot to stop us!"

Starscream crossed his arms and silently sulked as Megatron moved past him and spoke to the rest of his followers. "Decepticons, our time is now! Follow me, and I will lead us to victory and eternal power!"

The cheering was almost deafening. The mono eyed robot known as Shockwave appeared on the viewer. "Lord Megatron, I have the coordinates ready."

"Excellent Shockwave, excellent." Turning back to his followers, Megatron silenced them with a raised hand. "In order to ensure victory, I will personally lead the expedition!" He clamped one down on Starscream. "And to make sure it's safe, I'm sending you first!" he whispered.

"Incoming teleportation beam from Cybertron!" Teletran I's voice buzzed from the intercom.

"Autobots, front and center!" Optimus Prime's rang out over the speakers. Within seconds, the Autobots were standing in formation before their red and blue leader.

"What is the nature of the beam Wheeljack?" Optimus looked to their science expert. The older robot scanned the monitors, his flared out mouthpiece glowing as he spoke.

"It looks kind of like the space bridge, but it seems different somehow!"

"Shockwave sending a nasty surprise, no doubt. Can you pinpoint its location?"

"Within a mile." Optimus nodded and turned back to his troops.

"Autobots, transform and roll out! We have to stop the Decepticons no matter the cost!"

If their human companion Spike Witwicky were present, he no doubt would have impressed at the sight of the robots stepping back and changing into various vehicles. Optimus, in the guise of a large red Mack truck, pulled out and lead the convoy of cars as they drove into the woods and surrounding area.

The sky above the canyon glowed with an eerie light. No matter how many times Megatron saw it he always got a glow in his receptors. The clouds swirled and lightening arched through the sky. With an awesome crash a beam of pure energy shot from the heavens and struck the ground.

Before them was a large circular piece of machinery. Unknown by human standards, the space bridge was designed to transport material across great distances. Only now, that design had been altered somewhat. "Decepticons, before us is the gateway to infinity!"

Starscream, prodded by Soundwave and Skywarp, nervously stepped forward. "As a loyal Decepticon, I proudly volunteer to go first, oh mighty Megatron!"

Manning the controls, Megatron entered the coordinates designed by Shockwave. The bridge's light glowed red as he input the data. "If our research was correct, the bridge will now open a gateway to another Earth, one free of those blasted-"

"Autobots!" Thundercracker shouted as he dove into the canyon. Another fighter jet, like Starscream and Skywarp, the blue air warrior transformed and landed on the walkway. "Dozens of them, heading our way!"

"We'll have to speed up the process!" Megatron threw the switch, kicking the conveyor -belt into overdrive. Starscream, taken unaware, was sucked into the glowing void and disappeared in a flash. Reading over the screen, Megatron chuckled. "Well, it appears Starscream landed safely." Turning back to his troops, already engaging the Autobots in a firefight, he stepped onto the belt. "Soundwave, Skywarp, Thundercracker, follow me! The rest, disable the bridge and return to base!" Megatron howled with triumph as he jumped into the glowing void, his troops following behind him.

"Optimus, Megatron is bugging out!" Jazz took cover before a laser barrage took his head off.

"Whatever Megatron's schemes are, we have to stop it!" Optimus spied the Decepticons breaking into two groups. "We have to follow them into the space bridge!"

Leaping from his spot, Optimus and half his forces transformed. The few Decepticons that stayed behind promptly fled at the sight of the convoy bearing down upon them. The space bridge began to dematerialize just as Optimus and a handful of his brave followers entered it.

With a flash, the space bridge vanished, leaving only a few Autobots behind in the now deserted canyon. "What just happened?" Beachcomber asked.

"I have no idea." Grapple shook his head. Examining the space bridge's control panel, which had taken a few hits during the fight, the large robot picked it up effortlessly. "Perhaps we can find something from the controls, but I'm not sure."

Megatron opened his eyes. "Where are we?" Sitting up, he found himself in a snow bank. The rest of his forces were scattered around the landscape. "Soundwave, report!"

"Earth transmissions are similar to our dimension. Presence of Autobots: negative"

"Excellent! This world is completely defenseless. Decepticons, split up. I want you to scour this world and bleed it dry of energy."

After a brief salute, the ten robots each took off towards a distant part of the globe.

"Autobots, report." Optimus gazed around the blasted desert.

"Landscape looks different, but my sensors say we're in the upper Southwest quadrant of the United States." Bumblebee spoke up.

"Odd, but let's stay in vehicle form for the time being. I want everyone to partner up, and stay in radio contact at all times. This may not be our universe, and we don't want to panic the locals."

"Ok boys, can anyone tell me what in blue blazes is going on?" Nick Fury was not a man accustomed to waiting for information. He had been woken up, which by itself was a bad idea, by incoming reports of two energy anomalies. He had been on the bridge of the SHIELD heli-carrier for almost forty seconds without being told what they were looking for. "Aliens or Russians?"

"We don't know yet sir." Jasper Sitwell, a bookish fellow, gulped. "Our satellites picked up two odd occurrences, one at the North Pole and another simultaneously in Utah. Our men were there within thirty minutes but found nothing other than slightly higher levels of radiation and a few odd tracks. We're investigating now."

Fury bit down on his cigar. "I don't like this. Put all units on standby, and I mean all. We could be looking at something big here."

To be continued…


	2. You Got the Power

Soundwave stopped in the middle of the snowstorm. Separating from his fellow Decepticons, he stopped short when he was sure he was alone. "Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, eject. Operation: Seek and Devour."

With a press of a small button on his shoulder, the front of his torso opened, ejecting several somewhat large cassette tapes. The tapes quickly transformed into various robots before lining up for inspection. Rumble, a humanoid robot, flexed his arms. "About time I saw some action on this mission. What's the score?"

"It's not about you, you tin plated moron!" Frenzy hissed. "We have our orders!"

"Silence!" Soundwave spoke only once, but that was enough to quiet the pair. "Follow coordinates. Take energy from area, report to Megatron."

All five robots saluted in their own way before going their separate directions. Ravage, a sleek black panther-like robot, bounded through the snow and ice towards his target: England.

Oonagh Mullarkey was not a nice person. In fact, she was so rotten she performed a most unusual experiment on herself. In an attempt to increase her own potential, Mullarkey (in a strange merging of science and magic), spilt herself into two separate beings.

All her baser desires stayed in her original body, while her "good" aspects were dumped into a vat of protoplasm. Perhaps it was the magic, or simply some strange twist of fate, but the protoplasm gained sentience. Dubbing itself Plasmer, she (now fully formed) swore to combat evil whenever she encountered it.

That explained her presence at Stonehenge, but not the odd feelings she had been encountering. MI-6 had received a most unusual UFO sighting near the ancient monument, but all flybys had turned up nothing.

The brass was considering just writing the whole thing off as a computer error. Plasmer convinced them to let her have a look around the area, just in case. After nearly an hour, she was afraid they might have been correct.

She shook her head and walked around the stones. She gazed at them, enraptured by the sights. Perhaps it was just being so good, but she took joy in nearly everything she saw. Hearing the sound of two engines coming from a distance made her pause. "Odd, they don't sound like anything a local would be driving."

Turning around, she saw two vehicles slowly coming across the plain. She was curious. The government had recently banned all motor vehicles in the area while restoration was undergoing at the old site. So naturally, the image of a red Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette, followed by a white Martini racing Porsche 935 Turbo was enough to give her pause. "Should I say something? They are breaking the law, but I'd hate to be rude."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of grass being matted. "Someone's there?" She had heard no one approach the entire time she walked around. She spun around in time to see a large metallic panther leap from on top of the old stones. She barely dodged in time, the strange cat slashing at her dress.

"What are you?" She was curious more than frightened. "My name's Plasmer. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Jazz, I don't believe what I'm seeing!" Ironhide, a battle hardened warrior, stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

"Ironhide old buddy, if you're seeing it, then I guess I'm seeing it too!" Jazz came to a stop. Before them was an odd sight. Ravage, one of the most feared of all Decepticons, sitting before a young earth woman.

"What's the call on this? Prime said keep a low profile." Ironhide backed up. He often had harsh words for the humans, but he wasn't going to break orders.

"Yeah, but he also said not to alert the locals. If we don't do something fast, that little chick is going to be more than alerted. She'll be lunch!"

Plasmer sat on the ground. She was silent as the strange being looked at her. "Is it scared?" Mullarkey hated felines (among all other animals), but Plasmer was only curious. The animal looked sleek, with highly polished black metal in lieu of fur. Near its hind legs she noticed two large attachments. "Missiles? Who would make a robot cat and arm it?"

It pawed the dirt before it charged. Plasmer was on her feet instantly. As a side benefit of her creation, she possessed several abilities. Chief among them was the ability to alter her shape. Coming from a large pile of material, she could easily shape and move areas of her body to create more mass or less. She usually formed clothes, but she found actually wearing them far more interesting. "Darn, I rather liked this frock."

If Ravage had been interested in speaking to her, he might have questioned why she was able to sidestep his charge so quickly. Turning around, Ravage considered using his missiles, but dismissed. Why waste the ammo on a mere human?

When the human female suddenly grew several feet, tearing her dress to ribbons, Ravage began to wonder about his initial reaction.

Both Autobots transformed. Ironhide's gun was in his hand immediately. "Jazz, did you see that?"

"Wow, the humans on this Earth are way more interesting than the ones on ours!" Jazz whistled. Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, Jazz pointed to the fight. "Hold on there, let's see how this goes down."

Ravage, deciding to end the fight as quickly as possible, fired one missile directly at the strange human's center. Much to his shock, she punched the deadly projectile into the dirt. "That wasn't very nice!" She scolded him.

Rearing back on his hind legs, he tried to slash her with his claws. Constructed from some of the hardest materials on Cybertron, if an exploding missile couldn't budge the human, maybe massive blood loss would.

For a response, she ignored his claws and forced both of her hands into his mouth, keeping his jaws apart. "Now look, I'm not sure if you can understand this or not, but as an agent of Great Britain, I am herby placing you under arrest." She slammed his jaws together so tightly the force fused the metal together. Before Ravage could even process this, she picked him up and slammed him into the ground, tearing away his missile launchers in the process.

Jazz and Ironhide were speechless. After a length of time, Jazz could only mutter. "Wow!"

"She's no friend to the Decepticons. Think we ought to introduce ourselves?"

"Maybe later, like when we have reinforcements." Ironhide holstered his gun. "Come on, let's report this back to Prime. The Decepticons are still loose on this Earth."


	3. Yeah!

Moving away from the group, Starscream transformed and flew away. His scanners noted a peculiar energy source emanating from one of the larger Earth cities. Thundercracker and Skywarp, his two fellow Seekers and general underlings, flew in formation behind him.

"I must lose these two. Neither of them would betray me willingly, but I can't risk Megatron discovering this new source of energy!" Starscream thought to himself as he flew.

Several miles near the source, he became aware of another presence. His rear scanners showed him a familiar sight, one that made his diodes boil. "Frenzy!"

The humanoid robot flew close to the Seekers, far too close for Starscream's comfort. "Frenzy, what in all the galaxies are you doing?"

"Tailing you! Soundwave don't trust you, and neither do I!"

"This is ridiculous!" Starscream slowed down, allowing Thundercracker and Skywarp to fly ahead. "In your present state, the humans will be aware of us much too soon!"

Nearing a human structure, the devious air commander played his hand. "Look, a human settlement has spotted us! You must destroy them, lest they attack Megatron!"

"You're right, boy was I a chump!" Frenzy, his mistrust of Starscream forgotten for the moment, flew towards the bridge with guns drawn.

"One problem taken care of, now for that energy!"

If Frenzy had been more self-aware, he might have noticed that the Brooklyn Bridge had no defenses, or that the humans had taken no real notice of him. His blasting the support cables, however, rectified that at once.

Frenzy's vision was tinged in red as he blasted away at anything he saw. His own words were lost over the sound of the plasma fire and the screaming humans.

"Oh wow, what do we do now sir?" Bumper, one of the younger Autobots spoke. In his vehicle form (a sort of nondescript yellow coupe), he had followed Mirage from the landing point to their present location: New York City.

Mirage, also in his vehicle form, sighed. As much as a Liger JS11 racer could sigh at any rate. "Look kid, I told you to stop calling me sir." Trapped in the confusion and the gridlock, they were both witness to Frenzy's rampage. "Optimus said to avoid confrontations with the locals. If two more robots suddenly appeared, they might fire on us."

"But sir, we can't just stand by and-" Bumper grew silent when a strange figure arrived on the scene.

Valkryie leapt from her winged steed Aragon and landed nimbly before Frenzy. Hefting her spear, she cocked an eyebrow at the sight. "What manner of creature art thou?"

"Name's Frenzy toots." He scanned over her. "What kind of Earthling are you in nutty get-up?"

"I am a chooser of the slain, shield-maiden to Odin." Val gritted her teeth. Various members of the Defenders had been telling her to try a diplomatic approach before attacking on sight. "And I beseech you again, what is they purpose?"

"To destroy!" Frenzy laughed as he stepped back. From his chest came sonic vibrations loud enough to shatter glass.

"Sir, what do we do?" Bumper shook with pain as his windshield cracked.

"Hold on kid, let's see how this human handles this!" Mirage was in agony, yet the human stood before Frenzy unmoving. "How is that human doing that?"

The Valkyrie, often a slave to the will of others and surrounded by death at the best of times, gripped her spear in both hands. Even though her words were lost to the rising din, she pressed forward. "Foul thing, thou have attacked and injured without cause! Thy misdeeds cry out for justice!"

Frenzy, even with his low intelligence, knew fear. When the human female stood before him, taking enough sonic vibrations that would, and should, have turned a regular human body to mush and she just moving and talking (especially in that weird accent), Frenzy took a step back. "What are you?"

For an answer, she shoved her spear into his chest. Before Frenzy could even process the sensation, she hefted him up and slammed him into the ground. Tearing the spearhead free, she brought it wide and neatly sliced off his head. The sonic waves stopped.

"I…I think we need to tell Optimus about this sir" Bumper whispered. The Valkyrie picked up Frenzy's head, ignoring Mirage's unheard profanity usage as she signaled her flying horse.


	4. After all is said and done

Part 3

Storm VS Laserbeak

The mini-cassettes, loyal Decepticons all, split up after being ejected from Soundwave's chest. One, a sleek red and black one, transformed into a creature similar to an Earthling bird and flew off from the group. Dubbed Laserbeak, he was of the follow not lead stripe.

Sailing over the landmass of North America, Laserbeak found an interesting abnormality. His scanners filtered through most of the static, but he began to see large collections of energy that moved. Not simply being transported, i.e. vehicles, but rather moving as humans.

Zeroing in on this phenomenon, the alien spy perched on a power line and monitored the area. In the local city alone there were multiple cases of humans possessing power greater than that of the local power plant. Laserbeak was puzzled, but further investigations would be needed.

Soundwave must not be disappointed after all…

Near Camp Verde, Arizona

Ororo Munroe gently placed the flowers on the grave. The tombstone read 'John Proudstar' but she knew him by another name. "Thunderbird," She almost whispered to herself. "Am I the only one who remembers?"

She had only known the man for a brief period, but having served with the band of mutants dubbed the X-Men had given her ties. Standing up and shaking the dust free from her jeans, she walked back to her jeep. Once the entire team would come with her, now only a few.

Pulling onto the dry and cracked main road, she was lost in her thoughts until a strange object buzzed her car. "By the goddess!"

She nearly went into a ditch as she struggled to bring the jeep under control. "Am I going mad?"

A look over her shoulder confirmed no. A metallic bird was swooping over head and coming around to make another pass. "Is this a new type of Sentinel?" Stopping the jeep, she quickly got out and stood before the mechanical bird.

If Laserbeak had lips, they would have been curled into a smile. The human female stood before him, unarmed, and with no place to hide. The energy she was putting off was staggering. Anticipating an easy conquest, he flew in low, his twin guns warmed to fire.

With a wave of her hand, Ororo changed her standard street clothes into the more familiar black and gold uniform of Storm. "I must thank Dr. Richards for his unstable molecules."

Born a mutant with the ability to control the weather, she quickly sailed over the robot's attack thanks to a sudden updraft. "You now face Storm, mistress of the elements! Identify yourself or be destroyed!"

Laserbeak panicked. At heart a coward, the robotic bird was unaware of humans sporting such abilities. Blindly firing, the Decepticon's despair grew when the human easily avoided the blasts. Deciding to retreat, lest he exhaust his power supply, Laserbeak was shaken from his depression by a new sensation: utter horror.

Swooping from out of the clouds (and unaware to him driving on the canyon floor) was a sight he was all too familiar with, the red crest of the Autobots.

"Alright, we let Sky Dasher run interference, then we approach the situation with a plan. Got me?" Prowl ordered.

"Yeah, I got you, but what do you do when we get buried alive in this rubble?" Huffer shot back.

The two vehicles, one a Datsun Fairlady Z with police markings and the other a generic type of truck, raced up an ill-used trail. "Hold it!" Prowl came screeching to a halt.

"What in all the cosmos?" Huffer echoed the statement. Before them was a tornado. The skies had been clear before. Sky Dasher was sticking nose first in the ground.

"So what now fearless leader?" Prowl was speechless.

The mutant and the robot almost danced in the tempest. Storm easily avoided the laser blasts, but she still held back. Noticing the arriving Autobots forced her to change her strategy. "Those humans down there could be hurt!"

Decreasing the wind, she drifted down. Laserbeak, still off balanced, spun away. Storm landed before the surprised Autobots. "I ask you to leave, this area is unsafe!"

She stopped when she took notice of the police car. "Odd, that isn't a model type the local authorities use." Staring at the tinted windows showed her something else. "No driver?" She instantly brought her powers back to full strength.

"Prowl, old buddy, I think we've been made." Huffer quickly transformed, as did Prowl. Holding his hands up, he quickly stepped back. "Hold it!"

Storm's eyes, which had become a milky white at the activation of her powers, returned to their normal shade of blue. "What manner of creature are you?"

"We're called Autobots." Prowl made his way over to Sky Dasher and lifted the jet out of the dirt. The drone transformed into another robot and stood silently off to the side. "Look out!"

Prowl drew his acid-pellet gun, but Storm spun around and caught sight of Laserbeak flying away. "What is that thing?"

"Trouble! If he gets away, we could be forced to deal with more Decepticons!"

"These robots haven't attacked me, unlike that one. I'll trust them, at least until I know more." Storm quickly took to the air. She shouted to the trio before her words were lost to the rising wind. "Follow me, but stay back!"

Storm easily overtook Laserbeak. She assumed it was due to his being low on energy (she was right, but would not find that out until later). "What a strange day." She tried to talk to the retreating creature, but a blast from the dual cannons on his back made her rethink her position.

"Storms, heed my command!" The wind raced up from the canyon, gripping Laserbeak in a grip tighter than steel. Spinning out of control, Laserbeak was helpless as lighting screamed across the heavens and tore through his wings. The electricity, conducted by his metal skin, flowed through him. Laserbeak barely had time to let out a mangled electronic scream before his systems shut down.

Storm landed softly as the now inert robot plummeted to the canyon floor and shattered into pieces. "Professor Xavier must be told of this!"


	5. You never walked

Ejected from Soundwave's chest, the golden bird-like Decepticon known as Buzzsaw flew and split off from his fellow mini-cassettes. Ignoring the larger urban areas, the metallic spy decided to target rural areas.

An utter sadist, Buzzsaw liked to take his time with victims. Listening to the radio waves and communiqués from his fellows, Buzzsaw quickly learned that several inhabitants of this Earth contained within them great power. He was confidant he could pull that power out, he just needed some seclusion and time.

Clairton, West Virginia was a small picturesque town. The kind people sigh about and wish they grew up there. It had several churches, a medium sized mall, and a few plants to keep the economy going.

It was also home to some very unusual residents, although the world at large only knew of one. The first was the strange being called Rom. He was a Spaceknight.

Born on the alien world of Galador, Rom was formally a human. When his world was attacked by a race known as Dire Wraiths, Rom was among the first to volunteer for the Spaceknight program. His brain transferred into a hard metal shell, Rom quickly became the greatest of the Spaceknights.

Tracking his foes across the cosmos, he finally found them on the planet Earth. On his arrival, he swore to combat the Wraith's evil at every turn, which led to another problem.

The Wraiths themselves also lived in Clairton, although the world was not aware of this. Possessing the ability to alter their forms, the Wraiths lived in secret, using subterfuge to conquer.

Buzzsaw was completely unaware of these facts. Flying low, he perched on the roof on an abandoned strip mall and waited. "Given the size of the human population, there must be a sizable portion of these mutations in any given area. All I need to do is wait and one is bound to expose itself!"

Almost as if on cue, two humans suddenly appeared. A balding heavyset man stepped out from the shadows and walked towards the front of a closed toy store. The second was a shrewish looking woman who stepped out from behind the oversized clown that stood in front of the doors. Buzzsaw turned his attention towards them and listened.

The man wiped his brow and looked around the vacant lot. "Are you sure it's safe?"

The woman snorted and gestured towards the ruined storefronts. "Nothing but economic corpses. Now, what about these reports; are they true?"

"Yes blast it. A Galadorian is active on Earth. We've suffered multiple causalities already. Combined with these sightings of giant robots, I fear we must retreat."

"You have failed to find him, and now you wish to retreat like some common Kree?" The woman smiled at the man's agitation.

"Yes, he must have found a sympathizer to hide him from our patrols. And what if these things" he stressed the last word, "are a new breed of Spaceknight? We can barely cope with one that's human sized, but twenty feet tall?"

"Well, where you failed I will succeed. I only wish that pompous fool was here now to save me time!"

"Be careful what you wish for Wraith!" The voice that caused two centuries of nightmares for the Wraiths echoed from within the store.

"He's here?" The man paled. His flesh rippled as he began to change shape. From within the darkened storefront, a single red light appeared. The man's body bent and twisted as wings sprouted. Before he could take flight, a blinding flash of light shot came from within the building and enveloped the man, leaving only a pile of ash.

Buzzsaw stared at the scene in quiet wonder. "Amazing! And the readings I'm getting from those humans are off the scale!" Swooping down, he snagged the woman and dragged her away as another blast barely missed her.

Landing some distance away, he unceremoniously dropped her and landed in a tree. The woman dusted herself off and glared at him. When he failed to change shape, her irritation changed to curiosity. "You are not one of our agents."

"No, I serve only Lord Megatron. And what manner of creature are you?" Buzzsaw scanned her fully.

"I am a Dire Wraith." She saw no need for lying now. "I am thankful for the assistance. Your master will be rewarded."

"You can thank me in more direct ways." Buzzsaw grew more impressed as he ran her vitals against local power sources. "This alien's body chemistry is truly impressive. Why, with just her alone I could power myself for three Earth months!"

Perhaps the Wraith sensed Buzzsaw's intent or maybe she was accustomed to betrayal of one's allies. Whatever the reason, she quickly shifted in a larger creature (now extinct) that once roamed a small moon near Saturn.

If anything, Buzzsaw's admiration grew. "An organic transformer? Most impressive!"

His admiration was cut short when another blast of light enveloped her, leaving behind a pile of dust. "I was going to use that!" Buzzsaw trained his guns on the intruder.

The brush was pushed aside by a silver and gray skinned creature. "An Autobot? But when did they become so small?"

"Who or what are you?" Rom used his Analyzer on the strange bird. The device was one of the finest machines devised on Galador. It could expose a Dire Wraith no matter the disguise. When it failed to analyze Buzzsaw, Rom was quite concerned.

"I am your death!" Buzzsaw blasted the figure with both barrels. Rom took the blast full in the chest. Staggered, but not destroyed, he readied his Neutralizer.

"Better nightmares than you have tried." Rom took aim, but he stayed his hand. "This strange creature is clearly not a Wraith. Do I have the right to banish it to Limbo?"

Several miles away, unaware of the unfolding drama, a most unusual convoy was snaking its way through the narrow lane roads. In the lead was a vehicle most people would call a car, although nobody could say what model it was.

Behind it was a bright red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and behind that was a Nissan Onebox with the unmistakable markings of an ambulance. Respectively known as Powerdasher F-1, Windcharger, and Ratchet. "Hey F-1, slow down a bit, will you?" Ratchet radioed to the lead car.

The sleek racing car suddenly went into a spin. Coming to a stop, it changed directions and peeled away from the other two, leaving them in a cloud of dust and the stench of burned rubber. "Maybe it was something you said?" Windcharger opined.

Buzzsaw, relying on the old Decepticon proverb of discretion being a better part of valor, kept to the sky and tried to blast the silver humanoid from a distance.

That plan became worthless the second the humanoid ripped a tree out and batted him back towards the human structure. The impact of the wood knocked his cannons away. Crash landing in the parking lot, Buzzsaw struggled to rise when a Cybertronian racecar (sporting a large Autobot insignia on its front) broke through the padlocked gate and came to a stop inches before him.

When the two other Autobots pulled into the lot, Buzzsaw felt his diodes grow colder. "Hold!"

Rom landed near the struggling metal bird. "I apologize for attacking you, but my scans show you're not a Wraith. What are you then?"

Rom noticed the three cars, and the fact none of them had a driver. "More Wraiths, or maybe allies to this creature?"

"Who are you?"

Rom showed no surprise when the ambulance transformed into a large robot. "My name is Ratchet, and these are my friends." Ratchet pointed at the struggling Buzzsaw. "We're what you would call Autobots and this," he carefully picked up Buzzsaw, "is a Decepticon."

Windcharger, now transformed, slipped two large disks onto Buzzsaw's back. They activated with a hum. Before Rom's eyes the bird's wings suddenly slammed together, effectively binding him. "Magnets, guaranteed escape proof." Windcharger explained as he introduced himself.

After origins were exchanged, Rom got to the point. "Why are you here?"

When told of the Decepticons (and reminded too much of the Wraiths own plans), Rom came to a decision. "I shall accompany you."


	6. never run

Soundwave was a communications officer. As such, he had made sure to monitor the planet's broadcasts as he made his way towards land. "Meta humans: possible target." He transformed into a micro cassette recorder and landed in the open cab of a lone big rig truck.

After nearing New York State, Soundwave decided to make his own way. Transforming back, he ripped the truck to shreds. He made a proper recording of his actions, but felt no emotion as the truck burned.

He saw the three Seekers soaring overhead towards Long Island, but made no effort to signal them. He didn't trust Starscream or his two lackeys. Scanning the area, his interest fell on a series of biorhythms in the nearby woods. "Possible targets? Identification needed."

Jean Grey, or as she was better known, Marvel Girl, breathed deep as she gazed around the woods. "You just don't get sights like this in the city."

As a founding member of the X-Men, Jean was a mutant. Possessing telekinesis and telepathy, she had honed her powers at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She had retired, briefly, after her team (she always thought of the first group as 'her' team) had been taken captive by a living island and Xavier had recruited a new batch of X-Men.

Recently, however, she had been called back to the institute. Serving as an instructor, she was taking a break from the students. It was in the woods she felt something odd.

"There is someone here?" The woods were private property. She could account for all the students and the instructors. "A trespasser?" She tried to reach out and read the intruder's mind.

It was like being punched in the heart. Alien was the only word that came to mind. Something so alien and so inhuman, Jean felt her own will being subverted and overtaken.

Soundwave walked through the woods. At his height, the trees provided little to no coverage, so he didn't bother with stealth. As he brushed past the green annoyances, he felt something probing his mind. "Telepathy: engaged"

A unique ability of his, one he rarely talked about, was he ability to read minds. On his fellow Transformers it was easy enough, as their brainwaves were fairly easy to decipher and hack into. Humans were harder, but not impossible. The mental intruder was skilled.

Concentrating, he pushed back against the mental intruder. Much to his surprise, he found the human resisting him. Moving through the woods, he came upon the human in question.

A female, wearing in a green dress and yellow mask, stood in a secluded glen. "Subject: hero?" Soundwave scanned his databanks, and found references to a mutant dubbed Marvel Girl. The information the Earthlings had regarding her was slim. If she could withstand his mental assault, she (and others) could be of use to Megatron.

With her standing still, he reached down to pick her up…

Marvel Girl had been in some tight spots before, but presently she couldn't think of them. A large blue and gray robot appeared in the woods before her. The robot (she didn't understand how) was able to force itself into her mind.

"A new type of Sentinel?" This worried her. If this was a new type of robot designed to hunt mutants, were there others? She had the thing at a standstill, but she wasn't sure how long that could last.

"I've never encountered a mind like this! So cold and mechanical, it's like attacking a computer!"

Most humans possessed scrambled thoughts, making her tasks at mind reading difficult. The robot's mind, however, was laid out with perfect precision (what little she could see, as there seemed to be locks over anything important). "What did Hank call them, firewalls? I never thought I'd facing something like this!"

She was dimly aware of more minds coming closer to her location. As they drew nearer, she panicked. They were minds similar to her attacker.

Racing through the winding country lanes was a sight unseen by many locals. A bright red Lamborghini Countach took each hairpin turn with breakneck speed. Behind it was a red and blue 4WD off-road truck, keeping up but only barely.

Sideswipe, the car, radioed to the truck behind him, "Come on Gears, can't you put the pedal to the metal?"

"I'm going as fast as I can! Not all of us have rockets strapped to our tailpipes you know!"

"Can I help it if I'm just naturally faster?"

Sideswipe suddenly slammed on his brakes. "Get a load of that!"

Gears slowed down, but only barely missed rear-ending his companion. "What's the big, oh boy."

They both saw Soundwave towering over the trees ahead. "So what's the plan?" Gears backed up.

Sideswipe spoke softly. He didn't dare use the radio, as Soundwave might have picked it up. Judging from the other robot's stance, he was busy. "Gears, radio Powerdasher Drill. Tell him to tunnel to these coordinates, and then hurry back here. We'll hit him with maneuver eight." As Gears backed away and drove to a safer distance, Sideswipe slowly crept forward.

Marvel Girl felt one of the minds move away, but another one drew closer. "A friend? Or foe?"

A red sports car suddenly burst into the glen and barreled towards her attacker. At the same time, a red and blue truck slowly pulled up behind the robot. They didn't seem interested in attacking her, so she redoubled her efforts.

Once she got used to the alien mind of the robot, she was able to come up with a plan. Instead of trying to read its mind, she focused on the body. Keeping her thoughts silent, she focused on the ground and air around the blue robot.

Sideswipe tore through the underbrush as Gears parked himself behind Soundwave. Hitting an incline at the right angle, he rocketed through the air. "I really hope this works!"

Per the plan, the ground just past Soundwave broke open. Powerdasher Drill burst through the soft Earth, his drill bit gleaming.

Soundwave became aware of the Autobots' plan too late. Lifted off of his feet (thanks in part to Marvel Girl), he was a perfect target as Sideswipe crashed into him. At that moment, Marvel Girl released her hold. The momentum carried him back and down towards the rotating drill.

Marvel Girl looked away as the massive robot was impaled, the drill tearing through the glass chest covering. She fell to her knees exhausted as the two cars changed into robots. "Hey, are you ok?" The red robot towered over her. She felt no malice in his tone.

"I think so, but who are you?" She shakily got back to her feet. Using so much of her power had left her tired.

"We're the Autobots, and that was pretty impressive little lady!" The blue and red robot came up to her.

"What my friend is saying is thanks." Introductions were made.

Soundwave was bound in a special kind of glue. "With his servos down like that, he won't be able to radio for help." Gears explained.

"Interesting, but tell me, are there more like him? Or you?"

Sideswipe shook his head. "I can't get into that now. Right now we have to get back to our friends, or your whole planet may be in danger!"

"Then it sounds like you could use our help." She pointed towards the school. She silenced their protests with a glare, and a short burst of telepathy. "I've been doing this a while, and I think my teammates can help."


	7. You're a Winner!

Starscream smiled inwardly as he and his fellow Decepticon planes flew over New York City. "Now that we've lost Frenzy, I'll have to work on the other two."

Skywarp was a bully and a fool. The black and purple plane possessed the ability to teleport, but not the wit to use it. He could be waylaid without issue.

Thundercracker was more of a problem. Arrogant but dim, Starscream often had doubts about Thundercracker's level of commitment to the Decepticon cause. "His leeching ability could be an asset, but dare I put my faith in him?"

Slowing down and descending, Starscream cast his dice. "Spilt up you two. We'll be able to cover more ground. If this New York is anything like the one we visited in our dimension, the layout should be similar."

The other two Seekers took his orders without question. For Skywarp the orders would be simple: cause destruction. Thundercracker would involve more work. "Thundercracker, I need you to scout ahead. Go towards Brooklyn, near the docks. The humans always have a great deal of fuel there. Test it and bring it back to me."

While all of this was going on, the Earth's Mightiest Heroes were far from inactive. At the very start of the attacks, the team had been busy devising a plan of action. The three senior most members, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, stood before the assembled group. The call had gone out and the Avengers were assembled.

"Folks, we are under attack by persons unknown." Captain America spoke to the group, comprised of mutants, Atlanteans, royalty, scientists, and other assorted types. "Judging from the intelligence gathered, we know they are apparently robots capable of shape shifting into other forms. So far we've been able to stop them, but we need to find out more."

A ringing claxon interrupted him. "My god, they're here!" The living legend of World War II turned to the team. "We'll have to split up and tackle these things in groups. Scarlet Witch, you go with Iron Man and meet up with the SHEILD troops in Brooklyn. Stay in radio contact."

Thundercracker transformed and landed with a deafening thud. "Fuel? Here?" He gazed around the nearly empty dock. "Just another galactic snipe hunt." He angrily kicked an abandoned car. Sulking, he made his way in towards the city. "I wonder how the others are doing?"

He briefly saw smoke coming from one of the distant bridges. "Eh, I bet they can handle it. I wonder what I'm supposed to do here if I can't find anything?"

Blue-garbed men appeared around him. "Attention alien, this is James Woo of SHIELD. I am hereby placing you under arrest! Resistance will be met with force!"

Thundercracker snorted in disbelief. Several of the humans suddenly took to the air, thanks to special pack on their backs. His eyes widened in respect. "So, humans can fly in this world? Impressive, but I can't have you stopping me." Spreading his arms, he unleashed what he heard some humans dub his vampire ray.

It was a recent addition to his arsenal, capable of draining energy directly from a power source. The jets faltered, sending the men plummeting to the rooftops and street. Turning away, he started to walk. "I have no time to waste on weaklings."

Witnessing the attack, Iron Man landed some distance away. "Holy Hannah! That looked like some kind of EMP!"

The Scarlet Witch, who had to make do with an Avengers sky-cycle to transport herself, landed next to him. "Can you radio the agents?"

He put a hand to his head. "No good; that blast must have fried their radios."

The Witch, otherwise known as Wanda Maximoff, slipped off the cycle. "Then you dare not face this foe." She knew of Iron Man's dependence on his chest plate to keep him alive. "Fly back to the mansion and inform the others. I will do what I can."

"What? Wanda, that's crazy!"

"No, crazy is letting this machine and his fellows destroy New York. I will be fine, I assure you."

"Great plan Brawn, do you want to share any more bright ideas?" a bright yellow Lamborghini Countach LP500S radioed to a rugged Toyota Land Cruiser some distance ahead. A Toyota Supra idled behind them. Traffic around them was complete still.

Stuck in traffic, the three Autobots separated from their fellows and followed Thundercracker. "At this rate, the fight will be over!"

"Can it Sunstreaker, we stay in car mode until we can't. The humans don't know us on this world, and the last thing we want is to be lumped in with the Decepticons."

Overdrive interrupted. "Looks like we may be too late on that." The people around them bolted from their cars and fled. Pandemonium broke out as Thundercracker made his way towards the docks.

"Bored, bored," Thundercracker casually poked holes in a few derelict buildings. "Humans live in such squalor?" He shook his head in confusion.

"Halt!" A small female voice rang out. He sighed in annoyance.

"Again humans? There isn't a thing you can throw at me, so why do you persist?" He turned to face the speaker. His eyes widened when he saw the lone female, dressed in bright red, march to the edge of a crumbling apartment building. "Is this a joke?"

"As a duly authorized representative of the United States, I order you to surrender. I will not hesitate to use force."

He chuckled. "Again? Human, you can't even fly. What can you possibly hope to do against me?" He pointed an arm cannon at her for extra emphasis.

"This!" Wanda, skilled in the unpredictable art of chaos magic, gestured.

If Thundercracker had hair, he might have raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to do something?" He considered shooting her, but against such a foe he didn't feel like wasting the energy.

His tone changed quickly, however, when both his cannons suddenly began to writhe and twist about like snakes. "What's happening? How are you doing this?" His voice broke.

The barrels pointed themselves at his face. When he saw the energy building up for a blast, he lost what little composure he had. "What do you want?"

"Surrender! If you try anything, I'll let the guns go off." Wanda's voice was firm, but even he could feel the threat behind the words.

"Alright, I yield!" The cannons went back to their original state instantly. SHIELD agents swarmed the area, lashing giant ropes to him and securing his cannons so they couldn't fire.

"Do you see what I see?" Overdrive and the others finally broke free of the traffic snarl and watched from a side street.

"Yeah, we missed the opportunity to take that creep down!" Suntreaker groused. "I would have done it in half the time those humans took!"

"I said shut it." Brawn growled. "This changes things."

"Should we introduce ourselves?" Sunstreaker inched forward.

"No…let's wait. At least until we know where they're taking blue bird over there."


	8. You got the moves

Breaking off from the other two, Skywarp flew on towards his target: Madison Square Garden. "Remember, just cause a panic. I will summon you with further instructions." Starscream's voice echoed in his mind.

"Panic, eh? I can do that!" Below, people scrambled out of the way as the sleek black and purple F15 Eagle raced past the lower office windows. Climbing higher, he reached his peak above the fabled stadium and transformed.

As he began to plummet, he fired upon the stadium's roof with his twin blasters, neatly blasting open a hole. Picking up speed, Skywarp folded his arms together and smirked. Of all the Decepticons, Skywarp possessed a most unusual ability. He could teleport himself. He never used this power much, mostly due to his lack of imagination.

Here, however, he knew what to do. He vanished in a flash, reappearing on the ground below. "Alright, let's cause a panic!" He shouted to the empty stadium. Had he bothered to read the signs outside, he would have learned the entire complex was closed for repair.

He shrugged his metal shoulders and opened fire on the seats.

"I think we found one." The Wasp, otherwise known as Janet Van Dyne, shook her head as she hopped off of Thor's shoulder. The diminutive heroine grew back to normal size. "Thank goodness the area's already closed off."

"Aye," The Norse god of thunder tightened his grip on his magic hammer, "This way our battle shall not endanger the mortals of this fair city."

Janet put her hand on his chest. "How about I take the lead on this one big guy? From what Wanda told me, these things seem to do better with smaller assaults." She shrank before the god's startled eyes. "And they don't get much smaller than me!"

On the street below sat three cars; a black Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper, a red Porsche 924 Turbo, and a red Ferrari BB Diablo. Unknown to the size changing adventurer and deity above them, they were talking.

Trailbreaker scanned the area. "The humans are gone except for those two."

Cliffjumper pulled out in front and revved his engine. "If they want to get crushed, that's too bad for them!" He broke off from the two and headed towards the building.

"Prime is not going to like this." Overdrive mumbled as he and Trailbreaker followed the red Porsche.

The Wasp flew after the large robot. So far, he had been muttering to himself and stomping around the empty arena. She had to make sure he didn't get any farther than that.

Patting her waist, she felt relief when she felt the small band of explosives. "Thor's a dear, but I think this requires a gentle touch." She landed silently on the robot's shoulder. "Now, if I can just plant these without attracting any attention."

The sound of a car engine filled the empty arena. The giant robot stopped in his tracks. "Oh brother!"

To her shock, a small red Porsche blasted through the locked doors. "The driver must be insane!" She marveled at how the car, without slowing down even slightly, barreled down the concrete steps. "He's not going to do what I think is, is he?" She braced herself.

Hitting a convenient series of planks, the red car was launched into the air. The Wasp's amazement grew as the car transformed into a robot, smaller than the other one, but a robot all the same.

Cliffjumper slammed into Skywarp. "You're going down Decepticon!" He ignored the warnings honks of Trailbreaker and Overdrive as they arrived after him.

Skywarp's arm cannons and his glass gun were down drawn/powered up simultaneously. The two cars slowed to a stop as the deadly standoff took place.

Unseen by all, the Wasp climbed around towards the giant robot's face. "Maybe I should help. I don't know who these other guys are, but I know this guy is bad news!"

Unhooking the explosives, she quickly flew around towards the robot's large yellow eyes. "I'm so small he doesn't notice me!" She planted the bombs in the corner and flew back. She could see the metal features twisting in recognition. "Uh-oh, now he sees me!"

Charging up her wrist mounted stingers she fired at the explosives, detonating them. The blast threw her back as the robot howled in pain. The smaller red robot fired his oversized rifle at the larger robot's legs.

The ray turned the purple and gray metal dark and brittle. With a kick, the smaller robot forced the larger one down. "Give up?"

Skywarp held his face, his body rewiring vital circuits to compensate for the injuries. "Yes!"

The Wasp enlarged as Thor and several dozen SHIELD agents stormed inside.

"Halt, surrender yourselves!"

Trailbreaker and Overdrive, both transformed, held up their hands. Cliffjumper, reluctantly, lowered his rifle. "This could have gone better." Trailbreaker mused.

The Wasp signaled Thor. "I think those three are enemies of the larger one."

Thor cast a wary eye at the robots. "Such strange creatures, but let us secure them all first, then we shall decide who is the villain in this play."


	9. You know the street

Times Square had seen a fair share of strange things over the years. Just off the main thoroughfare, nestled deep within 42nd Street sat the Gem Theater. A revival place for classic and sometimes not so classic films, the cracked marquee advertised the current films showing.

To the Decepticon known as Rumble, the titles **Black Caesar** and **Foxy Brown** meant little. He had followed Starscream and the other two, but unlike his brother Frenzy, he felt no urge to make a spectacle of himself.

Breaking away from the group, he had been amusing himself strolling around the city. A group of oddly dressed humans surrounded him, breaking him from his thoughts. "Wow man, dig those crazy threads!" A tall human marveled.

"You got a wallet in those iron britches?" The tall human's companion, a shorter pug nosed type, poked Rumble in the chest. "We need a quarter, got to call home you know."

"You want a quarter? Well, how about a whole pound?" Rumble laughed at his joke, even if the humans didn't get it. Shifting his arms into pile drivers, he slammed several thousand pounds of thrust into the pavement.

The mini earthquake scared off the would-be muggers. "That's right, run from Rumble! I'm the meanest Decepticon on this block!" The shaking buildings drowned his words, but his point came across.

"What the, an earthquake? Here?" Misty Knight stood up in her seat. She, along with her boyfriend Danny Rand, AKA Iron Fist, was in the front row of the theater when the walls began to shake.

"Stay here, I'll go get Luke!" Danny nimbly leapt over several panicking patrons as the crowd rushed towards the neon marked exits en masse. Misty shook her head in annoyance.

"Lord, I love that man but give me a break!" She checked her purse. The black grip of the Colt stared back at her. "Ok, let's go see what the problem is." She slipped out the side exit with gun in hand.

"I think I see the problem Bluestreak." A Mitsubishi J50 Jeep 4X4 rolled down the street. Beside it was a light gray Datsun Fairlady Z. "You take the corner and come around from the other side, I'll block him from here."

"You got it Hound!" The car broke away and sped off down an alley. The 4X4 rolled closer to the humanoid robot.

"That's it, just keep wrecking the street and you won't even-" Hound's thoughts were brutally interrupted when a human rushed out from an alley and made her way towards Rumble. "What is that human doing? She'll be killed!"

Misty fumed. "I should have known it would be some jackass in a suit." She and Danny had finally gotten a free afternoon and finally accepted Luke Cage's invite to a double date. "Good thing I dressed for work." She tightened the laces on her sneakers. A simple shirt and jeans may not have been flashy, but they held up better during a firefight.

"Hey, you in the Iron Man get up!" She cocked the hammer. The rumbling stopped. "Put you hands up!"

Rumble stopped his attack when the human approached him. "Either this human is brave or nuts. Let's see." When she drew a weapon on him, Rumble had to smile. "Nuts eh?"

"You want my hands up?" Shifting one arm, he easily grabbed the blaster on his back. "How about now?" Before he could bring the weapon to bear he was shocked when a bullet impacted off his faceplate. "What are you, crazy?" He wasn't hurt, but he was shocked.

"No, just mad. Now drop that movie prop or I fire again."

"Ok, that does it!" he rushed forward. Lifting his pile driver, he aimed the human's torso. "One good hit and Frenzy will be hosing my arm off for hours!"

Much to his shock, the human didn't fire or flee. She shifted the weapon to her left hand. Her right hand balled into a fist, she rushed towards him and punched his pile driver arm dead center.

Blinding pain tore through both participants. Rumble's pile driver was cracked to the mid section. Misty's arm, artificial thanks to a terrorist attack some time ago, crumbled.

"What kind of freak are you?" Rumble tried to shift the arm, but couldn't. His casing was too damaged.

"I could say the same." Misty brought her gun again and leveled it at his eyes. "Now drop the weapon." She clenched her teeth in agony.

Before she could fire, a large black hand surrounded her. "Now Bluestreak!" A strange voice shouted. Smothered in metal, she could dimly hear an explosion. Released from her cocoon, she shakily looked at her rescuer.

Two giant robots stood before her. A gray and silver one was checking out the smaller one she had punched. He was covered in a strange ball of putty, while two empty smoking launchers on the larger one's shoulders told her what he did. The one that saved her, a large green and black robot, looked down at her with a curious expression. "Are you alright Miss?"

"Knight, Misty Knight." She gingerly held her right arm. "A few hours with the sawbones and I'll be right as rain. Now what's your story? You with that turkey?" Hearing a commotion, she saw the other robot being menaced by two familiar forms.

Stepping out from behind Hound, she gestured towards Danny and Luke. "It's ok, they're with me."

As Iron Fist and Power Man approached the Autobot with some care, Misty looked at Hound carefully. "Now spill, what's the story?"

An explosion forced them all to the ground. "I fear we are running out of time."


	10. Break the rules

To the average citizen of New York, some things were a given. The Red Sox would be booed, taxi drivers would over charge tourists, and if something odd happened near the Baxter Building, then you have better be somewhere else. Seeing a white F-15 Eagle jet fly mere feet off of the ground before transforming into a robot over twenty-feet tall would count as odd.

Starscream couldn't contain his glee. Megatron was blocks away, no doubt battling the local authorities. Skywarp and Thundercracker were off on their own assignments, and the rest of the Decepticons were elsewhere. "Now, where is that energy?" His sensors were almost screaming. A tall, almost nondescript office building caught his attention. "Here?"

Using his jets, he flew up towards the roof. Stopping several floors short, he peered inside the window and gasped. Inside the room was a massive door and computers that rivaled even the Decepticons gear. "A human built this?"

His sensors were reading massive amounts of energy, everything from gamma rays to traditional energy sources and even sources unknown to him. "Everything I could ever want is inside! I could be mightier then all the Decepticons and Autobots combined!"

With one finger he easily broke the window. "Mine, all mine!"

Sue Richards, better known as the Invisible Woman, rushed into the lab of her husband. "Reed, the gateway to the Negative Zone is being breeched!"

Reed Richards, otherwise called Mr. Fantastic, looked up from his work. "Doom?"

"It is a giant robot, but I don't think so."

A tremendous crash rattled the walls. "Sounds like Ben is taking care of it. Call Johnny to help you." He turned back to the tabletop and the thousands of notes spread out before him. "I'll be out when I prove the existence of this new dimension."

Three peculiar cars turned the corner. To a casual observer, the sight of a white Lancia Stratos Turbo, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, and between them a gray Mazda Savannah RX-7 might raise an eyebrow. "Camshaft, scout ahead. Bumblebee, you back him up."

"Ok Wheeljack, but what are you going to do?" The yellow car radioed. The younger Autobot was always eager to prove his worth.

The older inventor broke off from them. "I'm getting a fix on the rest of our forces. When everyone's called in I'll be back to help you."

"So it looks like it's just us? Great." Camshaft groused. As the two cars rounded another corner, they both came to a sudden stop. "Great galaxies!"

Starscream hovered above them, unaware of their presence. "Hold it, we have to stop him!"

"Camshaft, wait!" Bumblebee implored the older warrior, but the gray car gunned it for the Decepticon. His rear window opened, revealing the secret missile launcher he kept. Without slowing down, he fired.

The missile hit Starscream dead center, knocking the robot off balance and sending him into the street with a deafening crash. Bumblebee slowly began to back up. "I think we should radio in for backup!"

Starscream's hand slowly rose from the crater. "Who dares?"

Before Camshaft could take credit, an orange humanoid rushed out of the building. "Who or what is that?" Camshaft scanned his memory banks, but came up with a blank.

"Alright you overgrown Tinker toy, it's clobberin' time!" Ben Grimm, better known to the public as the Thing, drove his rocky orange fist into Starscream's palm, denting the metal.

"You disgusting flesh creature! I'll turn you into a pile of pebbles!" Starscream hauled himself free and primed both his arm cannons. No blast came. "What? How could my null ray jam?"

"That would be because of me." Before the Decepticon's red eyes, a human figure literally appeared out of thin air. "Susan Richards, Fantastic Four. Mind telling me what your purpose is here?"

Gritting his teeth, Starscream increased his power. "No pathetic human gives orders to Air Commander Starscream, leader of the Decepticons!"

Sue felt the energy building and increased her power as well. Blocking the barrels of both cannons, she concentrated like never before. "Listen to me, firing your guns won't work!"

"Lies, you're just trying to trick me!" Starscream shouted as he overrode the safeties in both cannons and poured more power. The back ends of both cannons exploded.

Sue quickly bound both his arms to his side with a solidified band of light before encasing him inside a large bubble. Ben dusted his knuckles. "Aw, I wanted another round with him Susie!"

Camshaft and Bumblebee both stared at the scene in utter amazement. "Did you see that?"

"Yes, and no!" Camshaft transformed. "I think we need to introduce ourselves."

"Wait do you think that's wise" Bumblebee's protests were cut off when Wheeljack pulled up and transformed in front of the humans.

"Are you two scientists?" Wheeljack hurriedly spoke, his mouth glowing with each word.

"Of sorts, are you with him?" Sue pointed to the still struggling Starscream.

"There's no time!" Wheeljack turned and gestured towards Camshaft and Bumblebee. "I'll handle things here, you two get to Times Square!"

Sue floated up towards the agitated Autobot on an invisible platform. "What's going on?"

A series of explosions drowned out his next words. As the other two robots transformed and drove off, Starscream felt a cold shiver inside his diodes. "Megatron!"


	11. Take the Heat

Megatron had not been idle after landing in the Artic. As his forces spread across the globe, he had quickly gained passage on a nearby ship. As a rather large robot, it would have been difficult. As a Walther P-38, it was fairly simple to slip inside the cargo hold.

Once getting near land, he just as easily slipped out. Hitting the water, he transformed back and swam the rest of the way. Once he was inside New York Harbor, he stood up. "This world, and all its energy, shall belong to me!" Ignoring the screaming humans and the pathetic gunfire from police, he casually made his way onto land.

Seeing a series of Freightliner semi-tractor trailer trucks parked in a yard, Megatron immediately dropped into a shooting stance and fired his laser cannon. As the vehicles burned, he smiled and laughed. "Merely human trucks. I forget the Autobots don't exist on this world!"

He laughed louder as he walked away, unaware of a red Freightliner pulling out of the burning yard and following him.

"Iron Man, report!" Captain America and the rest of the Avengers had been waiting with baited breath. So far, the various robots invading had been defeated by a large variety of heroes. Captured, they all spoke of their leader Megatron. The good captain had many flashbacks to another would be conqueror as the robots boasted of their leader's goals.

The faction known as the Autobots were different. Thanks to the Fantastic Four, they had managed to round up the other sentient robots without incident. All save their leader, Optimus Prime.

"Prime must have a good reason for leaving his radio off!" Jazz protested.

Iron Man's report drowned out Jazz's pleadings. "Iron Man here. That Mecha-Godzilla want to be is tearing up Times Square!"

"Stay put. SHIELD has been contacted and they are assembling. I've put out the call to the rest of the Avengers."

"Not good enough Steve. Wanda and I are the only ones with enough firepower, but I don't think the two of us can handle it."

Captain America grabbed his shield. "I can be there in one minute!"

The radio became garbled. "No good, he's seen us!" A blast of static followed by silence.

"You Autobots, you say you can fight this maniac?"

Ironhide nodded. "Yup. Been doing so long we can do it blindfolded!"

"Well, I want all eyes working. I'm going to gather the rest of the Avengers. You can follow, but I don't want you involved in the fighting. Not until we get Megatron away from the city, understand?"

There were a few disgruntled moans, but Ironhide saluted. "We understand. Good luck!"

Jennifer Walters made a habit of wearing loose fitting clothing. The chief reason was that the material could give, in the event of emergencies. Sadly, trapped in a maddened throng of people she didn't have time to change.

A giant robot had strolled in from the harbor and was making his way through town. She tried to listen to Captain America's orders, but with the screaming and panicking that was rather hard.

Forcing her way into an alleyway, she leaned against a wall as the people ran past. "No sense in causing more panic, but I have to do something!"

Seeing a red truck slowly rolling down the street, she broke free and ran in-between the giant robot's legs. He ignored her as he began laughing and making demands. "Figures, mad scientists always want an audience!"

Flagging the truck to a halt, she climbed up towards the cab when she made an odd discovery. "Nobody's driving?"

"Human, you must leave this area immediately, it's not safe!" A deep voice said from nowhere.

"Human? Wait, are you some kind of alien?" Jennifer sighed. "I swear, what is it about Earth?"

"My name is Optimus Prime, and you must leave before Megatron sees you!" The voice urgently pleaded.

"Look, I get that you're not on his side, but I have a job to do." Jennifer slipped inside the cab.

"What are you doing?" Optimus came to a halt. Megatron hadn't looked behind him, but Optimus knew he couldn't hide forever.

"My job." Jennifer unzipped her long dress and kicked off her shoes. Before Optimus could question, he was shocked when Jenifer hunched over. "I have a plan." She gasped. "Can you speed up?"

As she shakily exited the cab, Optimus couldn't help but notice her skin was turning green. Megatron stopped and began to turn around. "I have no choice now!" He lurched forward and began to pick up speed.

Megatron stopped in his tracks. He had been feeling as if he had been followed. "Impossible, the Autobots didn't make it through the space bridge, I know they didn't!"

Turning around, he swore loudly when he saw the familiar red truck barreling down the road towards him. What caught his attention, however, was the human holding onto the roof. "What method of attack is this?"

Firing a blast at Prime, he snatched the human from the roof as Prime was knocked on his side. "What manner of warrior are you?" It was a female, but with green skin.

"Give up?" She shouted. Megatron laughed and closed his fist around her.

"This was your plan? Prime you disappoint me!"

Optimus, now transformed into a robot, stared at Megatron in a cold rage. "That was a living being!"

"Not anymore!" Megatron squeezed his fist, but his triumph turned to curiosity when he felt resistance. Ignoring Prime, he squeezed harder. "How is this possible?"

With a loud pop and the scream of torn metal, Megatron's fist exploded, as his fingers were ripped apart from the inside. The She-Hulk pulled herself out, holding up one of his digits. "Give up?"

With a maddened howl, the Decepticon leader threw her at Optimus Prime. "I don't know how you managed that trick human, but it will be the last thing you ever do!"

Caught by Prime, the She-Hulk smiled. Shooting a glance to Optimus, she jerked a thumb at the other robot. "Want to tackle him?"

"My pleasure!" Optimus threw the jade giantess at Megatron as he drew his own laser.

Hitting Megatron hard enough to leave a sizable dent in his stomach, the She-Hulk quickly held on via improvised handholds. "Get off!" Megatron tried shaking her free, but she tightened her grip.

"One shall stand and one shall fall!" Optimus Prime fired a blast into Megatron's knees, toppling the robot.

At once the sky was filled with flying men. "Attention both combatants! You are to stand down immediately!" the SHIELD helicarrier floated overhead.

The She-Hulk helped various agents of Damage Control remove Megatron's cannon as large scale restraints bound the robot's arms and legs together. Cables dropped from the sky to haul the dazed Decepticon away.

"You were pretty good back there." Jennifer Walters, now in her regular form, leaned against Prime's leg.

"You were something special too." Optimus Prime nodded before transforming. Without a word, Jennifer climbed inside the cab.

The end

Epilogue

"I can't thank you enough Dr. Richards." Optimus Prime stood off to the side as the Decepticons, all them secured tightly and stripped of their weapons, were loaded into the transporter.

"It was an honor." Reed shook Prime's hand as he sent the robots back to their dimension. "That Wheeljack fellow is quite the conversationalist."

"Indeed." The process of getting everything ready had taken some doing. With a little bit of scientific know how, they had managed to locate the Autobots and Decepticons home dimension and open a portal. Once it was clear the Decepticons had arrived, the Autobots stepped onto the platform.

"I have to say, this was a pretty wild trip!" Bumblebee cast a long look at the assembled heroes.

"You can sure say that again!" Jazz moved aside as Optimus Prime took his place with them. "I wish I could stay longer, I heard some great tunes!"

"Tempting, but we have to return to our world. Even captured, the Decepticons are too dangerous a threat to leave alone for too long." He sharply returned Captain America's salute before they vanished in a blaze of light.

Megatron glowered at his ruined hand. In the event of his capture, he had installed a beacon in his chest to activate another teleporter. Through that, he was able to beam away when the rest of his forces landed inside the Autobots base.

Landing in the ocean, he promptly sank beneath the waves. "When I return to the Victory, I will get my revenge. First on those blasted Autobots, then on all those humans who opposed me. I swear it!" He shook his good fist at the water's surface as he went down.

All characters owned by their respective copyright holders (Hasbro for Transformers/Marvel Comics for their heroes)

Now, as to when and where this takes place, for the Transformers I used a more general sense of continuity, borrowing mostly from the animated series and toy line. For the Marvel characters, just think of this as Earth-618, or something vaguely close to Marvel Comics in or around the early to mid 1980s.

I would like to thank all the readers for their comments, and most of Darci, for putting up with my numerous errors.

Hope you all had fun with this.


End file.
